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Abstract
A standard heat treatment for Al-Si alloys consists of solutioning and artificial ageing. T4, T5 and T6 are the commonly used heat treatment methods for aluminum alloys. However, they need more than 4 hour for solutioning process and more than 6 hour for artificial ageing process. Unfortunately it requires long time to be carried out and therefore has significant financial implications. In the present study, solution treatment of A356 Al alloy was carried out in 1 hour and artificial ageing also carried out in 1 hour in three different heat treatment methods namely T4-Solution Treatment – TB Condition, T5-Precipitation (Ageing) – TE Condition and T6-Solution Treatment and Precipitation Hardening – TF Conditions. Finally obtaining almost same strength of materials compared to traditional heat treatment methods. The influence of the heat treatment on the hardness and tensile properties of the alloys along with that of the base alloy was investigated. It is observed that due to spherodization of silica particles T6 treated alloy showed a maximum hardness and strength compared to base alloy, T4 and T5 treated alloys.